Naruto: The Fourth Ninja War
by Jesse Davis Carter
Summary: A war has erupted in the land after an attempted invasion of the Land of the Sand. Naruto and his village come to the aid, but struggle against the new enemies they have never encountered before. How will Konoha's side prevail against the new villages?
1. A Hard Week

**Naruto: The Fourth Ninja War**

Hey, this is Jesse. What's up? I don't own Naruto, its characters, or any of its affiliates, by the way. This is my first story, so tell me what you think! The characters don't have the exact personalities portrayed in the manga, though, and I made up a lot of the locations. Jus trying for a bit of originality. Thanks a bunch, and enjoy!

**Chapter I: A Hard Week**

Whipping past leaves and trees, the young ninja pulled out his kunai knife and put it in his mouth. Stopping on a branch, he sniffed the air, and, without detecting anything unusual, started leaping up the tree. Suddenly, two shuriken whizzed from nowhere and hit above the ninja's head with a _thunk_. The ninja leaped down, pulled another kunai knife from his pack, and felt his enemy's chakra from behind a tree. He summoned his own chakra into his hand, and aimed at the tree.

"Rasengan!" he shouted, and hurled the kunai at the tree. The wind-aided force flew through the trunk of the tree and, with a _thunk_, hit its target in the chest. The enemy fell in a heap down at the trunk.

"Damn," whispered another hidden enemy from a nearby tree. The ninja flew at the younger one, aiming to kill. The young ninja flung open a scroll, bit his thumb, and quickly wrote something on the scroll. Out came a gust of razor sharp winds, flying toward the enemy and ripping him to shreds.

"Mission complete," Naruto said over his radio, pulling the two dead ninja up the tree with him.

"Well done, Naruto," responded his superior. "Return to my office. I must speak with you."

"Yes, ma'am," said Naruto. He looked at the dead opponents' heads. They were wearing headbands depicting a few ripples. "Land of the Waves. As I thought."

Naruto Uzumaki was a 19-year old Chunin-level ninja from Konoha, the Village Hidden in the Leaves. In the midst of the Fourth Ninja War, Naruto had become a commander of the Konoha ninja army, and was regarded as a hero. In the course of the war, Naruto had achieved the level of Chunin, and his inner demon, the nine-tailed fox Kyuubi, had been released in an incomplete ritual by the organization Akutsuki. With the members of Akutsuki disbanded, he was able to tame the nine-tailed fox and save his former comrade Sasuke Uchiha, after helping kill his brother Itachi. All had been well until the war.

Naruto sighed. He remembered that day well. He and Sasuke had been acknowledged for their assassination of Yatu, a goblin warrior of the Land of the Darkness, when a messenger ran in. The Land of the Sand, led by the Kazekage who was Naruto's good friend Gaara, had been attacked by the Land of the Waves, led by a notorious assassin known as Atako. Gaara declared war on Atako, and the Land of Darkness and Land of the Earth joined in the Land of the Waves' war against the Sand. Tsunade, the Fifth Hokage and leader of Konoha, immediately declared war against the Sand's invaders, and in the next few days, the Sound, the Light, and the Wind had joined the war. Within a week, every hidden village in the land had joined the Fourth Ninja War.

The war itself was well matched. Both sides had their strengths and weaknesses, and both sides experienced victories and defeats. However, the casualties over the past year had been high, with the deaths of many of the best shinobi in the land.

Konoha had experienced its own casualties. Choiji Akimichi, the food loving ninja from Naruto's class, had lost his life in a mission involving an avalanche in the Land of the Earth. Hinata Hyuga and Kiba Inuzaku had passed as well, after being poisoned on the battlefield by a scorpio from the Land of the Darkness. Kurenai Yuhi, their sensei, had been slain a few days later in a quarrel with the Waves. Tenten and Ino Yamanaka had been severely injured in battle, and so had General Shikamaru Naru, the brilliant strategist from Naruto's class, in an invasion by the Sound. Even Naruto's sensei, Kakashi Hatake, experienced a bad chest wound in the Battle of Firefly Plains.

Naruto raced back to Konoha with the bodies. He wept away a tear when he thought about Hinata. She had been the bravest in that skirmish with the Dark, and saved Naruto when he was disarmed by an onslaught of goblins and scorpio. She and Kiba were poisoned as they charged into the onslaught and crushed the army. Kiba died quickly, but before Hinata died, she confessed her undying love to Naruto, and exchanged one last smile to Naruto before finally laying to rest. Naruto destroyed the rest of the army in his fury by summoning the Two-Tail, the tailed beast of vengeance.

"Commander," bowed Izumo Kamizuki, one of the Konoha gate guards, when Naruto reached the village. "I see you've caught the spies."

"Of course I have," responded Naruto. "Couldn't let them escape with those scrolls, could I?"

"Couldn't leave them alive? They might've been helpful."

"Tsunade told me to kill."

"Well, that woman could kill you herself if you didn't follow her orders."

"Yeah."

Izumo returned to his post as Naruto raced to Tsunade's office with the bodies. As he approached the door, his old classmate Commander Neji Hyuga came out the door.

"Hey, Neji," called Naruto.

"Hey, Naruto," responded Neji. "Nice job with the spies."

"Thanks," said Naruto. He noticed a dark shadow on Neji's face. "What's wrong? Did something happen?" Neji had been sullen ever since Hinata's death, but something was definitely not right.

"Yeah." Neji remarked with his eyes clouded with sadness. "My sensei, Might Guy, has just been reported among the dead in the battle near the Land of the Waves. Lee was killed as well."

Naruto was stunned. The masters of Taijitsu, or physical combat, in Konoha had been slain? Rock Lee, one of Naruto's rivals, had become an aspiring warrior who surpassed his master in taijitsu. He was to be promoted to a major soon. This turned the tables for Konoha.

"They were overwhelmed during a retreat," continued Neji. "They pulled back to allow Sakura and Iruka transport the refugees safely to Gaara's camp. Captain Ebisu went down with them."

"Did Tsunade just tell you this?"

"Yeah, just now. Gaara's men are holding both bodies safely at the camp. Ebisu's remains have been already burned."

"You're gonna have to tell Tenten. She might not take this well."

"Yeah, I know. Don't worry; I'll take care of it. Tsunade's cutting Tenten and me off of the frontlines for a while, but we'll be back soon. Remember, a shinobi – "

" – should never expose his or her emotions, no matter what the case," finished Naruto. "Forget that rule for now, Neji. Sometimes a shinobi just has to be human."

A tear rolled down Neji's cheek. "Thanks, Naruto. I'll be going now." He walked down the hall and out of sight as Naruto turned towards Tsunade's door. He knocked.

"Enter," came a voice from inside.

Naruto entered the office. The Fifth Hokage was sitting at her desk, head between her arms. Her bodyguards, Raido Namiashi and Ibiki Morino, stood beside her like statues. Ibiki, captain of the ANBU Interrogation and Torture Force, smiled as Naruto entered the office.

"Didn't give me anyone to torture this time, commander?" chuckled Ibiki.

"Sorry, General," grinned Naruto. "Hokage's orders."

Tsunade looked up. "Naruto," she said with a sullen face. "Well done. I want you to have a rest for now. This mission must have been exhausting after that onslaught two days ago with the Sand."

"It's quite all right, ma'am," responded Naruto. "General Temari of the Land of the Sand just sent me a letter earlier today. Commander Kankuro died yesterday of scorpio poison. I'm planning on heading over to the camp there tomorrow to help console her, if that's all right with you."

"Yes, of course. Kankuro's death is a heavy loss. Tamari must need your help. Go ahead and take a few shinobi with you. I'll send Sakura over there as well."

There were a few moments of silence after that. Ibiki and Raido shifted uncomfortably.

"I presume you've heard about the Taijitsu masters' deaths from Neji," said Tsunade quietly.

"Yes," said Naruto. "Commander Neji told me as he walked out from your meeting. I am deeply sorry for the loss."

"It is bad for our cause," lamented Tsunade. "Ebisu's loss is as well, as we have limited messengers on our hands. With Sai's and Shizune's deaths earlier this week, we have heavy casualties for our village again."

"Not to mention the loss of Kankuro," remarked Ibiki. Both Naruto and Tsunade nodded.

"This war must end soon," Tsunade said. "The enemy has shifted their targets to Konoha, as we are the strongest threat to them, not the Sand."

"The new village, the Blood, are especially dangerous," said Raibo. "They defeated the Three-Tail yesterday, though experiencing many casualties."

"Yes," continued Tsunade. "So, Naruto, rest up. I'll be talking to Kakashi about a joint attack with the Sand and the Wind against the Waves. This war must be crushed soon, and hopefully with a quick negotiation."

"But in the meantime, we must execute force," remarked Ibiki.

Naruto nodded. "I understand. Whom do you wish for me to take with me to the Sand?" he asked.

Tsunade paused for a second. "I would say Shikamaru, but he is still in a coma. Take Ino and Tenten with you, and Sakura will meet you there. I'm confident that Captain Iruka will be able to handle the refugees well with Gaara."

Naruto nodded. "Understood."


	2. Sandstorm

**Naruto: The Fourth Ninja War**

Hey, thanks for the comments and the reads for chapter 1. Here's chapter 2. Hope you like it. Just a note, I don't own Naruto at all. Thanks.

**Chapter 2: Sandstorm**

The footsteps got closer.

Naruto turned around. He was standing over the river on a bridge under the night sky. He was waiting for someone.

The footsteps got closer.

Naruto could feel the heat of the summer night getting to him now. He was in his best uniform, looking as sharp as he could possibly be. Sweat began to roll down his forehead as nervousness overcame him.

The footsteps got closer.

Everything was ready. He had planned this beforehand. When the person came, everything would be ready. Nothing would go wrong.

The footsteps got closer and stopped.

Naruto smiled. He looked up and saw the beautiful smiling face of his love, the amazing Sakura Haruno. She smiled back as a soft breeze rustled through her pink hair. She took Naruto's hand.

"This way," she said. She led him over to the bank, and sat down. Naruto followed suit.

"Naruto," she said in a seductive tone. Naruto's sweat started up again. "I've wanted you for so long. Now you're mine, and I don't want you ever to leave me. Ever."

"I won't," Naruto answered. "I will always be here for you, always be here to catch you when you fall, be your shoulder to lean on, protect you…"

"Thank you," said Sakura. She blushed.

_God_, thought Naruto. _She is so beautiful…!_

Naruto had always liked Sakura. She was his Genin sweetheart, but she had never returned the feelings. She had always taken a liking in Sasuke, and Naruto hated Sasuke for that. But after Sasuke left Konoha and Naruto finished training with the legendary Sannin ninja Jiraiya, Sakura had found a place in heart for Naruto, seeing how much he grew. She started to actually like him a bit…romantically.

Well, that's what he thought at least.

It certainly looked that way though, since usually when a girl leans in for a kiss, it means she likes her partner…to a certain extent.

Naruto leaned in as well. This was his moment; this was finally his chance to get the girl of his dreams! As the excitement came rushing down on his head, a buzzing started ringing through the air.

Naruto groaned. That damn alarm clock.

He pulled himself together. He shouldn't be thinking about Sakura now. He was a 19-year old commander in the middle of a war. She was a 19-year old medic in the middle of a war. There's no way the two of them could get together. Now was just not the time.

Still…thinking about her made him so…alive.

_Who am I kidding?_ Naruto laughed. _She's out of my league. Rumor is that she likes Sasuke again, anyways._

Naruto sighed. Best friends though they may be, he and Sasuke have always fought over Sakura. And Sasuke always won. But now, it seemed like Sasuke has his eye on Ino Yamanaka, Sakura's best friend. Naruto didn't like that either, cause it might break Sakura's heart.

_Too bad Sasuke can't fall for…oh…the Hokage_, he grinned. _Ugh…malicious thought_.

He threw on his battle vest. He was to head to the Land of the Sand today with Ino and Tenten, where he was to meet with General Temari about the war, due to Commander Kankuro's death. Sakura would meet them there, coming from one of the Kazekage's refugee camps.

He opened his drawer and equipped himself with scrolls, shuriken, and kunai, and wrapped his bandana around his forehead. Picking up his travel pack, he left the house after grabbing some toast.

Ino and Tenten were waiting for him by the Hokage's office. "What took you so long?" asked Ino impatiently. "Having a dream about Sakura again?"

"Um…no," said Naruto, blushing a bit. Both of the girls giggled.

"Naruto, if these dreams go on, we're gonna have to tell Sakura," giggled Tenten.

"You won't."

"Will."

"Won't."

"Will!"

"Won't!"

"WILL!"

"WON'T!"

"You are two 19-year old military officials arguing like Konohamaru when he was a kid," said an eye-rolling Tsunade, coming out of the door with Ibiki and Izumo. "Seriously, if the Blood Village saw you right now, I'm pretty sure they wouldn't hesitate in an attack."

"My apologies, Hokage," Ino said politely. "I tried to stop them, but – "

"Your mission," said Tsunade in a booming voice.

"We have a mission?" asked Tenten. "I thought we were just seeing General Temari."

"No," answered Tsunade. "Your mission is more than just traveling over there and coming back. You are to go with General Temari and some Sand shinobi and spy on the Blood, Moon, and Dark villages. We have limited information on them, and we need more."

"But, how do we know where the villages are at?" asked Ino.

"There is a camp not far from the Sand village that we have detected with our black ops. Messengers frequently go through there. Tag a messenger at a wide distant, and find the locations of the hidden villages. Have Tenten and Ino report back with the locations. Naruto, you and Sakura stay with Temari and the Sand and find out as much information as possible. Most importantly, don't get caught."

"Will we have backup?" asked Naruto.

"Of course," answered Ibiki. "There's a Konoha camp not far from the Blood camp. They'll provide assistance if necessary. Understand?"

"Yes, ma'am."

Two hours later, the three shinobi were on the road. As they walked quietly down the trail to the Sand village, each of them thought about a different someone.

Naruto was, of course, thinking about Sakura. In every gust of wind, he pictured a breeze running through her hair; with every ray of sunlight, her smile. He sighed; this was not a way for a commander to act. Hoping that Tenten and Ino didn't suspect his fantasizing, he made a face of focus and looked forward the whole time.

Ino certainly didn't notice. She had her thoughts on Sasuke. He saw the way he looked at her, checking out her form every time he saw her. She smiled; she had been fighting with her best friend Sakura for Sasuke ever since they became friends, and it looks like she would prevail. She smiled again when she thought about Sasuke's nonchalant personality, and his sweet complexion.

Tenten didn't notice Naruto's behavior either. She had tears in her eyes that she desperately wanted to hide. But she couldn't.

"Tenten," said Naruto softly. Tenten looked up and saw Ino and Naruto looking at her with friendly eyes. "I'm really very sorry about Lee."

Tenten was silent. She didn't want to look at Naruto and Ino. "A shinobi should never show his or her emotions," she said with tears held back. "A shinobi must be strong, be brave, be…"

Naruto looked away. Tenten broke down in tears.

"Let's take a break," he said quietly. Ino nodded.

The fire crackled with intensity that night. Tenten had gotten over herself, and held her composure and silence for the entire afternoon. Naruto quietly cooked the fish he caught earlier with Ino above the fire.

Ino looked over at Tenten. "Tenten," she said timidly. "Can I ask you a question?"

Tenten nodded.

"Did you…were you…in…love…with Lee?" she asked.

Naruto looked away. He couldn't bear to see Tenten break down again. To his surprise, Tenten's answer was straight and uncluttered.

"Yes."

Ino bowed her head. She knew what it felt like to lose someone she loved. Naruto did too, when Sakura was believed to be dead. Tenten was not alone.

Two days had past on their three-day journey to the Sand village. The three young shinobi had become a bit more alive by the third day, with such events like Ino depansing Naruto in a small supply store and Tenten flirting with a young Wind village Chunin.

As they walked up a sand dune, the wind suddenly started picking up. Sand and dust were everywhere, and the three shinobi quickly put on their dust gear.

"Damnit, Tenten," said Naruto. "That Wind guy you met must be coming."

"Shut up, Naruto," said Tenten. "But you're right. This is definitely jutsu."

That answer was confirmed by shuriken running through all three of their heads.

A line of ninja raced out of the dunes and near the dead bodies. "That was easier than I thought," sneered one assassin. "Konoha's troops may not be as bad as they say."

Three cacti around the group suddenly moved. Six enemy shinobi dropped down dead with kunai in their necks. The assassins looked around and looked back at the bodies to see three dried logs in their place.

"Doppelgangers!" yelled their hooded leader. The three cacti transformed and quickly jumped on the assassins. Thrusting his kunai knives in and out, Naruto found a pattern with his weapons and decided to end it quickly.

"Ino! Tenten!" he yelled. "Get out of the way!"

Both girls obeyed. They jumped away while pushing some of their enemies into the others.

"Rasengan!" yelled Naruto. His two kunai charged with an eerie blue light and swung into motion. The swirling blades flew at the group of assassins. With one last yelp, the assassins fell in an explosion of chakra.

"That was fun," grinned Naruto.

"That was only the beginning," exclaimed a voice.

Naruto looked around. The hooded leader was on top of the dune, waving what seemed to be a staff of some sort.

"Who are you, and what do you want?" asked Ino.

"I am Rytou," said the leader. "I have been paid to kill you and your companions, Naruto Uzumaki, by the Hidden Village of the Blood. Now taste my wrath!" With that, he swung his staff.

The wind instantly strengthened. A gust of sand blew across the dune and raised it into a swirling twister of sand. Within it was the outline of a monster.

"Behold!" yelled Rytou. "The dune dragon, Saratie!"

The twister burst open and out came a huge dragon. Saratie was made of hardened sand, and its wings were massive. It roared with ferocity unlike anything Naruto had ever seen before.

"None of you will live," said Rytou. "All of you will die by Saratie's hand."


	3. Saratie

Naruto: The Fourth Ninja War

Hey, y'all. Jesse again. Here's chapter three, and thanks to everyone's support and reads. Hope you like it so far. Please give me reviews with ideas, cause I'd be glad to use them. Thanks a bunch, and oh, I think I have to say this everytime, but I don't own Naruto! Thanks.

**Chapter III: Saratie**

"All of you will die," said Rytou. "You will all die by Saratie's hands."

Naruto stared up at the massive dune dragon with awe. Its scales were made of hardened sand, glistening under the sun. Its eyes were rubies, shining with a blood red glint, and its horns looked harder than ivory. The massive wings were made of sand and feathers made of metal, and its tail had a long steel pike protruding from the tip. It reared up and roared, spouting a cloud of dust from its mouth.

_We're supposed to take THIS down?_ gaped Naruto.

"Saratie is the legendary guardian of the Samala Desert in the South," said Rytou smugly. "His power has long been feared by many a Shinobi, and his chakra rivals those of the Tailed Beasts. It was the beast that defeated your precious Three-Tails."

"Naruto…" began Ino, but Tenten cut her off.

"Ino, we can't retreat," Tenten said reproachfully. "That thing could overtake us in an instant."

Naruto nodded. "The best thing we can do is call for backup. Ino, go get reinforcements from a nearby camp. Tenten and I will hold this one off."

"But – "

Naruto waved her away. "Go. We have no time to waste."

Tenten nodded. Ino hesitated, then disappeared.

"Reinforcements won't help," Rytou stated. "Saratie will kill you all."

"We don't need the reinforcements," said Tenten, opening a scroll.

"We'll take you both down right now," said Naruto as he made a sign.

"No wonder you two are some of Konoha's elite," continued Rytou. "Both of you have courage beyond belief. Most shinobi see Saratie and flee."

"We are no normal shinobi," yelled Naruto. "Art of the Shadow Doppelganger!"

Rytou was stunned. The young ninja had just produced 2000 shinobi clones that surrounded him and Saratie. _No way_, he thought. _There's no way he could have enough chakra to produce this many!_

"Art of the Armory!" exclaimed Tenten as she pulled open a scroll. Four thousand Konoha moon swords flew out and into each of the four thousand Naruto hands. Placing a kunai in their mouths, the clones charged at Saratie.

"Argh!!" yelled the mass of Naruto clones.

"It is useless!" exclaimed Rytou. Even a million shadow clones couldn't penetrate Saratie's body armor! Your attack is fruitless." As if on cue, a whirlpool of sand appeared under Saratie, who took flight. The sand shot up and enclosed all of the clones within the sand. The sand then fell back into the desert, and the whirlpool disappeared.

Naruto and Tenten stared in awe. Saratie had emerged from the onslaught completely unscathed, even by the blade of the legendary Konoha moon sword. "Naruto," whispered Tenten. "What do we do?"

"We have no choice," said Naruto. "We must summon beasts to defeat Saratie."

"But…Tsunade said not to do so unless we're in eminent mortal danger," said Tenten nervously.

"I'm pretty sure we are in that scenario right now, Tenten," said Naruto. "We can't defeat this thing alone."

Tenten was shaking. Naruto had never seen her this scared in his life. _She's probably still recovering from Lee's death_, he thought. _She can't take much more_.

"Tenten, you've got to pull yourself together and summon Ubaki," he said sternly. "Don't lose your life here. Lee wouldn't have wanted that."

Though tears rolled down her face, Tenten nodded. "All right," she said quietly. "I'll see what I can do."

Naruto looked back at Saratie. He saw all of his friends that had passed in the war: Choiji, Kiba, Lee, Shizune, Sai, Hinata. As he thought about them, fury overtook him and he focused his enormous chakra.

_Hinata_, he thought fiercely. _This one's for you_.

"Ready, Tenten?" he asked. She nodded.

"Then let's rumble."

"Your efforts are useless," Rytou exclaimed, grinning. "Saratie can't be beaten by anyone or anything! Nothing you summon will be of any use!"

Naruto glared. "Rytou, you will be the one who dies here, not us," he exclaimed. "Tenten, let's go!"

Both Konoha shinobi made the signs with the hands. "Art of Summoning!" they exclaimed, and slapped their right hands down of the ground.

The sound was earsplitting. The force blew all three of the shinobi back, and even Saratie reeled a bit. When the dust cleared, two enormous beasts stood facing Saratie.

The first was Ubaki, Tenten's summon. Ubaki was a giant vulture, with wings of fire and eyes made of emeralds. With a wingspan of over 200 feet, its massive size was equal to Saratie's, and it breathed a ball of orange flame into the sky.

The second was none other than Kyuubi, the nine-tailed beast. Its nine tails floated with the breeze in the sky, and its menacing eyes growled with an intensity matching Saratie's. Both beasts stared at Saratie, then over at the two young shinobi.

"You want us to take down _this_?" growled Kyuubi.

"Saratie, the dune guardian, if I'm not mistaken," cawed Ubaki.

"Yes," said Naruto. "My clones couldn't penetrate its scales, and its powers completely destroyed my entire onslaught."

"Of course you couldn't beat it," cawed Ubaki. "Saratie is one of the legendary Guardian Dragons, whose power far exceeds the Tailed Beasts."

"Even both of us cannot win against it," growled Kyuubi.

"Then…how…?" began Tenten, but her voice trailed off.

"We'll give it a try, I guess," growled Kyuubi. "But it's only cause I owe you one from the Battle of Pottsworth, when I forgot that you were in the middle of the goblin army."

"You're joking, Kyuubi," cawed Ubaki. "You forgot about him? If he dies, the Hokage would kill you!"

"Yeah, well, I was sort of preoccupied with the giant scorpio," said Kyuubi.

"How irresponsible of you," cawed Ubaki.

"How pathetic," exclaimed Rytou suddenly. "The nine-tailed demon and a giant bird. This is the best you can do, Naruto Uzumaki?"

Silence.

"Did you hear that, Kyuubi?" asked Ubaki quietly. "He called us pathetic."

"I most certainly did," growled Kyuubi. "Naruto Uzumaki, we will fight for you and our honor, so if you please, stand back. This could get ugly."

"Only for him," cawed Ubaki.

With that, both beasts charged at the dragon. Saratie reared up and roared, leaping into the air.

"A thousand wind needles of hell!" Saratie roared. It opened its mouth and its wings and thousands of forces of wind shot towards Ubaki and Kyuubi with lightning fast speeds. Both beasts shot in opposite directions, as the needles hit the sand, leaving numerous holes.

"Razor Fireball!" cawed Ubaki, shooting a giant spiked fireball at Saratie.

"Zephyr Blades!" roared Kyuubi, and with a flick of each of its nine tails, a blade of wind shot at Saratie.

"Sand Armor!" growled Saratie, and a ball of sand surrounded its body, absorbing both attacks, leaving the dragon still unscathed.

"Damn," growled Kyuubi as it landed. "Ubaki! We need to combine our attacks to penetrate that armor!"

"All right!" cawed Ubaki. It flew above Kyuubi. "Your move first."

"Nine Dragons!" growled Kyuubi, and it blew nine swirling pillars of chakra at Saratie.

"Sky Needle!" cawed Ubaki. It disappeared in a flash and entered the chakra attack, spinning around at supersonic speeds towards Saratie.

"Yes!" said Naruto. "An attack like that couldn't fail to break the armor!"

Saratie and Rytou seemed to be thinking along the same lines. Rytou looked at Saratie, and knew what it was about to do.

"Oh my God, Saratie," he exclaimed, and fled away from the battle.

"Naruto! Take Tenten, and run!" he yelled. Naruto hesitated, but saw a danger coming and grabbed Tenten.

"Let's go!" he yelled, and a shivering Tenten followed him away from the melee.

"Supernova!" roared Saratie. The armor suddenly shined bright blue, and back to its normal color. Just as the combined attack was about to strike, Saratie triggered the supernova.

The armor exploded in a brilliant flash of white light. The chakra attack was blown away, and the sand from the armor whipped away into the sky. The dust rolled up and almost covered Tenten and Naruto, but both managed to dodge the deluge. Kyuubi was blown back, and Ubaki fell from the sky, wounded by the force of the impact.

Saratie looked down upon his opponents and roared. Ubaki was unconscious, and Kyuubi was hurt pretty badly from the impact. As both Tenten and Naruto climbed back up the dune, they saw Kyuubi beat back by a sky attack from Saratie. Both beasts were down.

"Victory is mine!" Rytou exclaimed as he climbed to the top of the dune. "Your beasts were no match for the awesome force of Saratie! Saratie, finish those two off!" Saratie obeyed and dived towards Naruto and Tenten.

Tenten cried out in despair, and Naruto held her close, closing his eyes and bracing himself for the impact. But it never came.

"Zephyr Waterfall Bullets!" two voices exclaimed. A jet of wind and water bullets hit Saratie and he fell over next to Ubaki.

"Toad Slash!" exclaimed one deep voice as a giant beast leaped over to Saratie and slashed the dragon back down.

Naruto was stunned. He looked over and saw Ino there with about 10 other ninja, along with Gamabunta, the boss toad, and the One-Tail.

"Master Jiraiya!" he exclaimed. "Temari!"

"Oi, Naruto," said Temari, taking out her iron fan. "Sorry we're later than expected. This dragon's gonna be mince meat when I'm done with him."


End file.
